Its Not What you Earn, Its What you Spend

About Nancy Kvamme

Nancy Kvamme is the owner of In The Black Money Coaching. She has had a life long interest in learning about her finances and now wants to help others. Nancy also feels it is very important to teach children about money and finances. She has developed a workshop consisting of various stations to help kids learn about money.

I recently discovered the app of Flipp that can be used on your mobile phones or tablets. With the app you can view sale circulars for over 400 retailers. Along with national retailers, you may also receive circulars for local stores. Mine includes on of local grocery stores (Hornbachers).

One of the selections with the app is The Shopping List, you add items to your list and Flipp will find all local deals for you. This is useful to find the lowest prices on items and also if you are price matching at certain retailers. WalMart is one of the retailers that will price match other retailers prices on most items.

It is also useful to compare prices of items while you are out shopping.

The Fargo Public Library is hosting a series on Investing topics in February. Below is information from a post on the library’s blog. The events will held at the Main Downtown Library, they are free and open to the public.

Would you like to introduce your kids or grandkids to investing, but are not sure how to go about it? Starting Sunday, the library is hosting the first session of a three-part series titled “Investing for All Ages” at the downtown Main Library. Attendees will get expert advice on how to set up a College SAVE Plan to help parents and grandparents save for college, along with how to access free resources at the library to help better keep track of investments, and tips on ways to introduce saving and investing concepts to kids and grandkids. Sessions are set for the following dates and topics: Sunday, Feb. 8 – 2 p.m. at the Main Library Topic: College SAVE Plan presented by James Barnhardt from the Bank of North Dakota Sunday, Feb. 15 – 2 p.m. at the Main Library Topic: Informed Investing for Kids & Grandkids Sunday, Feb. 22 – 2 p.m. at the Main Library Topic: Fargo Public Library Investing Resources – Both Print and Online Resources For further information, contact the Main Library Information Desk or Librarian Diane Briggs at (701) 241-1492 for details. Fargo Public Library events are free and open to the public. Adults must accompany children under 10 years old. For more information regarding the Fargo Public Library and a list of upcoming events, call the Information Desk at (701) 241-1492 or visit the library’s website, www.fargolibrary.org.

I used this tutorial to make my own photo canvas. I made 6 canvases for about $60 of materials and less than an hour of time. It will depend on what size you make. The prints at Walgreens were $4 for the 8×10 and $11 for the 11×14.

You may be able to find black canvases at some stores and that would eliminate the step of painting the edges black.

I have not been using much cream soups in recipes lately partly because of the ingredients and partly because of the increase in prices lately. I have tried a dried mix recipe in the past. I recently tried this recipe. You will probably have most of the ingredients on hand. The only thing I had to purchase was the powdered milk. It was $7 for a box that will make at least 2-3 recipes. Each recipe replaces 9 cans of soup.

If you are looking for a recipe for Christmas morning, or an easy weekend recipe, try this Crockpot French Toast recipe. You could also make it the night before and have breakfast ready to go before work or school.

I made it recently and it turned out great. I just used regular sliced bread and since it is in the liquid for quite awhile it soaks it up and puffs up quite a bit.

I had it on for a couple hours longer than the recommended 6 hours and on warm for a couple hours after that and it was still good.

You could put it on before going to bed and have French toast ready when you get up.

Z!ng is a dining option that opened earlier this year at 3241 42nd St S, Fargo. It is an app based business, which means once you download the app on your mobile device you can place your order online and your order is ready to pick up when you get there. Orders can also be placed in person or by phone (701-356-3822). If you place an order thru the app or by phone you should not have to wait for your order. If you place your order in person, the wait is usually about 5 – 10 minutes unless there are several orders.

The menu is available on Zingdinner.com, the app or in the store. The meals are cooked and packaged and in most cases you only need to warm them up once you get home. For some of the pasta dishes, the pasta will need to be cooked and added to the sauce once you get home. Most meals can be completed within 15 minutes. Menu items can be ordered in single portions or 2, 4 and 6 person portions. They use USDA guidelines for portion sizes and nutritional information can be found on the website.

I recently picked up a few meals and enjoyed the ones I tried. A couple of the meals were for an elderly couple I know. I tried the Swedish Meatball meal and it tasted great. After being warmed up it tasted fresh and homemade.

It is also a great way for smaller households to get the taste of comfort foods that are difficult to make a small amount, such as lasagna.

There are also holiday meal options available for order which are make it possible for smaller parties to have the taste of a home cooked meal without the expense and time to cook a big meal for a few people.

I would recommend Z!ng to anyone that wants a homecooked meal without the time and labor of making it yourself.

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About the author

Nancy Kvamme is the owner of In The Black Money Coaching. She has had a life long interest in learning about her finances and now wants to help others. Nancy also feels it is very important to teach children about money and finances. She has developed a workshop consisting of various stations to help kids learn about money.